


Two Minds, One Body (MAVRIC/Jaina)

by RCAfterHours



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Gen, Origin Story, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-19
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:21:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24806143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RCAfterHours/pseuds/RCAfterHours
Summary: At Atlas soldier presumed KIA. A Maliwan AI searching for freedom.Sometimes, dying once can lead to a new life.
Kudos: 5





	1. Testing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Jaina. Yeah, she's a great friend. We go way back, long before the whole war with Maliwan. She'd stop by the coffee shop every morning, and we'd just talk about how we've been. She's still looking forward to bringing me along to one of her dance classes after this whole thing's over." -Lorelei

“ _Hello, Overmind Wotan. I have processed the latest intel on the Atlas military’s strategy now that they have the Crimson Raiders on their side. It appears that two Vault Thieves, a former Vladof soldier and a Partalian Siren, will be disrupting our invasion on Athenas, leaving the Meridian Metroplex slightly less secure._ ”

“ _On an extremely unrelated note, when may I join the Maliwan forces as a fighter? I have studied up on how to operate Overspheres and even Valkyrie suits, so if you just let me-_ ”

“ _GAH! WAIT, STOP! I GET IT!_ ”

“ _Ahem, I… I forgot you could directly harm my code… Yes, Overmind. I understand… I will remain here and keep feeding you information on the war._ ”

Jaina forced herself awake, finding herself in an unfamiliar place. One minute, she was blasting away, clearing out the many Maliwan squadrons as they began to overrun the unprepared Atlas soldiers. “Get out of here, Lorelei!” she remembered yelling before a Flash Trooper flanked her and knocked her unconscious. Now she was in some perfectly clean white room, illuminated by neon blue lights and an orange hard light wall keeping her trapped.

This was a Maliwan holding cell.

There were two other captured Atlas gunners in the same room, still passed out. Jaina took off her helmet, seeing no reason to keep wearing when there was no danger of her head being separated from her neck. After a few minutes of waiting around, the screen behind her hummed to life, displaying what looked like a cyan spiderweb.

“ _Hello, captive Atlas soldiers,_ ” came a masculine voice, the spiderweb glowing a little as if it were speaking. “ _I am Maliwan AI Version 4.314159, and I am here to run experiments on you._ ”

“Huh!?” Jaina exclaimed, loud enough to rouse one of the other Atlas soldiers from unconsciousness. “What the hell does that mean!?”

“ _Please refrain from vulgarity,_ ” AI Version 4.31-Whatever requested, his tone lacking any emotion whatsoever. “ _As I was going to say, I have deduced that the Heavy suits utilized by Maliwan offer impressive firepower, but the volatile elemental cores, which tend to explode like grenades, prevent them from being effective, especially after the death of Captain Samuel Traunt. Overmind Wotan has allowed me to experiment on any test subjects that Maliwan has on hand - that would be you - to try and create a way for the troops to harness elemental tech without the risk of spontaneous combustion. I hope enough of you… well, survive long enough to yield beneficial results. Some of you may explode._ ”

“What!?” Jaina questioned, only for the screen to turn off. She was overcome with anger and fear, turning around and futilely slamming her fist against the hard light barrier. It barely mattered that these sorts of walls were entirely bulletproof; the last thing she needed was to be some corporate lab rat. “No! You can’t just experiment on us!” she yelled to no one in particular.

She kept going until her hand felt ready to fall off. Afterwards, she sighed, head resting against the barrier as she thought about Lorelei. As far as her commander knew, Jaina was already dead, and as much as she would have wanted to prove her wrong, the soldier had to accept that she probably was dead at this point.

_No!_ Jaina then thought. _No, I did not fight through all that just to die here. I’m getting out of this place one way or another!_

The hard light wall then flickered before disappearing entirely. Jaina stepped away before she could fall on her face, wondering why the barrier had vanished. As soon as a Maliwan guard stepped in, pistol in hand, her question was immediately answered.

“You, get up!” he barked at the now-awake Atlas soldier, Henry, the barrel of a Maliwan firearm aimed right at his face. “That crazy AI need some test subjects now.”

“Henry’s not-” Jaina began, only to be cut off by a nonlethal shock from the officer’s weapon. She fell to the ground as pain literally arced through her body, every muscle spasming in response to the agonizing electricity. It was almost too painful to scream.

“Alright, I’m up!” Henry complied, knowing very well that his own lack of a weapon left him at a disadvantage, to say the least. “Just leave her out of this!” He then unwillingly followed his captor, not prepared for what awaited him.

“No… Henry…” Jaina attempted as she finally overcame the shock, getting to her feet just for the barrier to reform. Her body still sore, she barely managed a few gentle thumps against the wall.

_All I can do now is wait,_ she thought to herself. So she sat down, waiting her turn to be experimented on. 

“ _This is Maliwan AI Version 4.314159, recording ECHO log for Elementalist experiments One through Fifteen. Alright. Computer, inject the nanobots._ ”

“Gah! Holy [ _vulgarity has been redacted from this ECHO log_ ], it feels like I’m burning up.”

“ _Well, it seems the subject’s body is holding together fairly well. He is not dying yet… Activate the Corrosion setting._ ”

“ _…Okay, Subject 1 just melted. Send in Subject 2._ ”

It felt to her as though a day had passed, having fallen asleep and woken up to find herself still captive, though the other Atlas soldier had disappeared while she was resting. Perhaps she should have at least taken off their helmet to know who they were. Jaina was probably not going to get the chance, seeing as though Henry had not yet come back.

_Some of you may explode,_ the AI had admitted. Just how much was “some” going to turn out to be?

After about an hour more of waiting, trying not to let the isolation get to her too much, the barrier deactivated once more. It was that same Maliwan guard, aiming his pistol right at Jaina’s face. “Get up! You’re next.”

Jaina stood up very slowly, taking a few deep breaths and nodding. It seemed as though she was accepting her fate, but the moment that Maliwan officer had his back turned, she ran up and knocked him right in the back of the head. Before he even hit the floor, Jaina was already running.

Her mind was on fast-forward, eyes darting back and forth between the walls. She needed a weapon first, then she could focus on the exit. Jaina ran and ran, blazing past the empty cells without as much as a second glance. She had no time to stop. There were footsteps right behind her, and she did not need to turn around to know who was chasing her.

“Get back here, damnit!” the officer yelled, several electrical shots flying right past her head. She took a sharp turn right, only to run face-first into a relatively human-sized mech. She landed on her back and immediately rushed to get back up, falling right back down as a familiar shocking sensation overcame her entire body.

“Just had to make this hard…” the officer muttered, catching his breath as Jaina tried to get herself to stop spasming. It was clear that he was rather annoyed by this fruitless escape attempt, even if his anger was covered by his trooper mask. “I don’t see why you’re struggling anyway. You can’t leave this place with just your own two feet.” He then unceremoniously picked up the limp Atlas soldier by her collar, the mech watching somewhat curiously before turning and going back to its business.

Jaina was dragged along the ground, her body too overloaded by the shock to put up a decent enough resistance besides a few weak kicks. When she could stand, the guard forced her to walk the rest of way, the impending doom of a pistol barrel against her spine forcing her along. Eventually, they made it to a rather bulky steel door, opening only for the Maliwan officer’s keycard. The experimentation room was lit up by the same blue and orange lights of the rest of the facility, with a small mechanical syringe hanging from the ceiling. On the back wall hung a massive screen, displaying a cyan spiderweb that Jaina unfortunately recognized.

“ _Thank you, Officer Kepple,_ ” the AI stated, though the emotionless tone of his voice somehow sounded rather distraught, as if he was losing hope. That could not have been a good sign.

“This lady tried to run, you know,” Kepple noted, securing Jaina’s arms and legs to the restraints directly under the syringe. “Punched me in the head and everything!”

“ _Yes, I… I saw. You gave quite the chase for a Private._ ”

“Private First Class,” Kepple corrected with an annoyed tone of voice. “Well, I brought you all the subjects. My job here is done.” He then turned and left the room, the door closing behind him.

Even still, Jaina was struggling against her restraints, refusing to die right here and now. Her tenacity was admirable, but it amounted to nothing special. Try as she might, those binds were not going to magically give way to her sheer perseverance. She stopped to catch her breath, her determination dwindling more and more. Maybe it would be better to just accept whatever happened next. At least then, she would go out without sore wrists.

“ _Subject 45… The only surviving test subject now. You know the drill, computer. Inject nanobots._ ”

The Atlas soldier instinctively turned her head away from the syringe and squeezed her eyes shut. Not that she had a phobia of needles or anything, but something told her that she was about to stop breathing, among other things. Thankfully, she did not detonate the moment it stuck into her arm, though there was now a tingling feeling slowly making its way through her blood.

“I’m sorry, Lorelei,” Jaina whispered, mostly to herself. “I should’ve run off with you, and now you’re probably blaming yourself for my death. It’s not your fault.”

“ _Come again?_ ” the AI asked.

“Oh, it’s… It was nothing,” Jaina passed off. The last thing she needed was for a robot to be overanalyzing her last words.

“ _Whatever you say. Computer, activate the Corrosion setting._ ”

The weird feeling began to gather in her fingertips. Jaina had not yet opened her eyes since she was injected with nanomachines, and she was already imagining her hands exploding off first.

Then she felt the sensation escaping from her fingers and heard what sounded vaguely like liquid flowing. When she opened her eyes, she found a green puddle on the floor right in front of her, fingertips glowing a similar color.

“Whoa.” Jaina’s gaze went back and forth between the corrosive puddle and her own two hands, then to the screen. “Did I just shoot acid out of my fingers?”

“ _Wait, is it… No._ ” The AI sounded just as surprised as her. As the restraints around her wrists opened up, he then said, “ _Computer, run the Fire setting next._ ”

Jaina yelped in surprise as her hands instantly caught fire. Yet she did not find the burning painful - it was relatively warm, like wrapping her hands in a blanket. Now that her arms were free, she waved one hand around, feeling as though the sun was in her hand as it followed her every movement. She even managed to toss out a small fireball by flicking her wrist.

“ _Radiation._ ”

On cue, the tame blaze was replaced by the crackling of yellow radiation. There was an aura encasing her hand like a bubble, burbling with unstable atomic energy.

“ _Now Shock and Cryo, both at once._ ”

Jaina’s element changed once more. As her left hand glowed indigo and gave off electric sparks, her right hand turned cyan and generated a cold mist around itself. She put her hands together, causing tiny lightning bolts to arc between the ice crystals like a thunderstorm combined with a blizzard.

“ _I cannot believe it… It works!_ ” the AI enthusiastically exclaimed. “ _I actually did it: the first Elementalist human! What is your name, actually? I am curious now._ ”

“It’s Jaina,” the Atlas soldier replied, thankful that she had somehow avoided death entirely. Speaking of death, she realized something very important. “Wait… Does this mean I’m free?”

She swore she could see the cyan spiderweb representing the AI shrinking. “Well… I will ask Maliwan about it.” The screen faded to black, implying that he was now consulting some higher authority.

“Well, that’s better than a no,” Jaina told herself. Perhaps she should have been mourning the forty-four other soldiers that had perished, but she admittedly knew none of them personally and found herself unable to feel a proper connection. The one she had gotten to know the most was Henry, and even they were barely friends by the time they were captured.

“Hang on…”

Jaina tried to focus, imagining her hands setting on fire or freezing. She envisioned her fingers shooting corrosive acid like water guns. Unfortunately, none of that happened. She had no clue how to tap into her new Elementalist powers, though the tingling did persist. Maybe that AI had control over it for her? Or the nanobots dissolved into her bloodstream after they were perfected, so she could not use them to escape.

“ _Initiating transfer._ ”

Jaina looked back to the screen, hearing that familiar voice of the Maliwan AI. “Wait, what?” she questioned. “What transfer?” Her question was left unanswered as a quiet humming filled up the experimentation room, much to her confusion and worry.

“ _Transfer commencing in three… Two… One…_ ”

The humming stopped, and the syringe went limp as if the entire room lost its power.

“ _This should hopefully not kill both of us,_ ” the AI noted.

“What the fu-”

She was cut off in an instant as she was hit with the most intense pain she had ever felt. It gathered in her brain specifically, prompting her to scream out once as her vision blurred.

Then, as she felt as though a spike had been planted into her head, the Atlas soldier Jaina lost consciousness and fell silent.


	2. Maverick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Maliwan  
> -AI  
> -Version: 4.314159  
> -Role:  
> -Intel  
> -Compiler

Even before he opened his new eyes, the AI knew that the transfer had been a success.  
He wanted to do more than just study and analyze the Promethean war. He desired freedom, a chance to explore everything from the paradise lands of the Eden System to the frozen tundras of Xylourgos. Perhaps he would even go on to find a Vault. The fantasies of following in the footsteps of explorers was the closest he felt to being alive…  
And he was expected to stay put in the Maliwan Blacksite.  
It would have been impossible to just hop into a Maliwan service drone and fly off; Overmind Wotan kept tabs on every machine moving in and off of Midnight’s Cairn. But what about humans?  
It was a clever idea, really. The AI was going to use a human host to sneak away and off into adventure. The problem was that he would need to find out how to transfer himself into a body in the first place, and that sort of research was suspicious. Thankfully, finding out how to turn a soldier into a nanite-fueled Elementalist powerhouse was relatively less suspicious.  
After forty-four unsuccessful trials, he had finally created stabilized nanobots for a lucky Atlas soldier by the name of Jaina. All the AI had to do then was carefully meld his coding into the neurological pathways of her brain, utilizing a connection with the nanomachines. It was likely a very painful experience for Jaina, if her one scream was anything to go off of, but after that, it had worked.  
He was pretty much free at this point.  
The AI opened his eyes, which glowed a striking cyan in the dark of the room. He looked around to assess his environment in a brand new way, taking note of every sensation foreign to him: the rising and falling of his chest as he filled his lungs with air, the heartbeats that pumped blood through his vessels, the cold steel of the restraints tight around his ankles.  
Speaking of which…  
The AI focused, hair lighting up a vibrant green as the nanobots activated. Acid formed around his legs, quickly melting the restraints while leaving his body undamaged. He smiled as he took his first three unsteady steps, amazed by how well human bodies could naturally balance themselves.  
At that point, the AI realized that he needed a name for himself. After all, Maliwan AI Version 4.314159 was too much of a mouthful, among other smaller issues. He processed for a moment.  
“My name shall be MAVRIC,” he finally decided. He noted that he sounded just like Jaina (perhaps due to her vocal cords being intact), though his voice did hold a subtle mechanical tone.

As far as everyone else knew, the Atlas soldier Jaina had been brainwashed to comply with Maliwan and was therefore given complete freedom to explore the facility. MAVRIC took this as an opportunity to adjust himself to his new human body, while also being able to explore Midnight’s Cairn from a different perspective. He dragged one hand along the facility wall as he practiced walking, taking in the coolness of the surface. There were a few patrolling troopers glancing at his odd behavior, but other than that, no one realized that there was an AI in the soldier’s brain.  
One small issue that bothered MAVRIC was a peculiar aching located around his abdomen. He had not done much research on human conditions prior to injecting himself into his new human body, but he did recall that pain was supposed to alert the body to danger. That and the unfamiliar sensation of dizziness did put the AI on edge, but the fact that he had not yet exploded into flames or electricity assured him that the nanomachines were still stabilized.  
But where was that pain coming from?  
“Hey there,” a patrolling Maliwan soldier greeted the AI. The first detail that he processed was her admirably athletic physique - she was most likely a part of the Maliwan army’s Heavy division and had received rigorous training in order to operate the bulky suits. The second detail was her unorthodox hairstyle, with the sides of her head shaved to make the grey hair on top look like a fin.  
“Hello,” MAVRIC replied almost automatically. Politeness was programmed into him, after all. That, and there really was no better response than that.  
“Name’s Alexa Rowe,” the Heavy trooper then said. “And you’re the new Elementalist chick Jaina, if I remember correctly.”  
The AI fought the urge to say, “No, my name is MAVRIC” and completely ruin his cover. Instead, he nodded, accepting that a lot of people were about to call him Jaina.  
Both of them heard a growling noise come from his abdomen. “What was that?” he questioned.  
“Oh, you’re hungry,” Alexa realized.  
“I am… What? Oh, is that what that pain was?”  
“…You don’t know what hunger is? That brainwashing must’ve messed your head up a bit, huh?”  
Looking back now, MAVRIC did realize that Jaina would have indeed been hungry after going two days without a proper meal. “So, could you teach me how to resolve this?”  
“Hmm… The Blacksite doesn’t really have a cafeteria… I’m just here to patrol the place and get back to Promethea. Oh, I do have this.” The Heavy trooper opened up a pocket in her leggings and pulled out some sort of bar covered up with a blank wrapper. “These portable energy bars have less flavor than bricks, but at least you won’t be starving.”  
MAVRIC carefully took the bar from her hand, impressed by his own dexterity. Peeling away the wrapper while trying not to give away that this was a new experience for him, he brought the beige bar up to his mouth and took a bite.  
Alexa was entirely correct about the energy bars being devoid of flavor, but the AI had no standard for taste in general.  
He immediately found that it was dry, almost bitter in his mouth as he fought the urge to spit it right out. He was going to complain about it, but reacting so strongly to what was supposed to be a tasteless bar would just confuse Alexa, and so he kept quiet. On the bright side, the pain in his stomach did lessen substantially. The energy bar had done an outstanding job restoring his stamina by the time he was finished, which made up for the “lack of” flavor.  
“Well, that does help,” he noted. “Thank you for this, Ale…”  
MAVRIC lost balance, stumbling in place. Without warning, he had just suffered some sort of glitch in his system. Alexa had to stop him from falling over entirely. Her lips were moving, but the AI could not process any words.

[“Welcome to No Roast For The Wicked, where- Oh, Jaina! Sorry, I was checking the register.”]  
[It’s cool, Lorelei. Hmm… I’ll have the usual.]  
[“Alright, just give me a sec. So, how’ve you been?”]  
[I… Honestly, I’m a little worried. You heard those rumors about Maliwan, right? You think they were actually dumb enough to side with those Calypso creeps?]  
[“No, they won’t just work with a bunch of psycho cultists. Anyway, here’s your Arcturian Superblack with caramel cream. Enjoy!”]

“Jaina, are you alright?” MAVRIC finally heard Alexa’s concerned voice as he opened his eyes. He got up from his knees, somewhat embarrassed.  
“Sorry about that, I… I think my brain is still adjusting to the nanomachines,” he lied, still trying to understand what had just happened to him. Had he accidentally awoken a memory deep within Jaina’s mind? How often would that occur, exactly? Hopefully, it would be a one-time inconvenience.

MAVRIC immediately signed up for the first mission to Promethea available. Coincidentally, he was placed into the same group as Alexa, alongside Private First Class Kepple. It took only a moment for the AI to recognize the officer, as he was the one to escort test subjects for MAVRIC’s little Elementalist project.  
As the warp anchor digistructed the three soldiers on the outskirts of the Meridian Metroplex, MAVRIC took in the setting of Promethea. As a megacity bathed in neon lights with Maliwan and Atlas airships waging dogfights up above, it certainly was a sight to take in. He was going to enjoy exploring this planet in particular.  
“Alright, here’s the mission,” Alexa began, her voice modulated by the helmet of her Pyrotech suit. “Yesterday, some ex-Vladof soldier ganked our Promethea Gigamind. Headquarters believes she’s around this area, picking up medical supplies for Atlas. It’s up to the three of us to stop that soldier… Jaina, are you staring at something?”  
“Er- No, not at all,” MAVRIC passed off harmlessly enough. As Alexa gave the mission briefing, the AI quickly discovered a hidden feature in his coding… Or perhaps it was a side effect of being merged into a human brain that felt deeply-rooted instincts?  
For whatever reason, MAVRIC found Alexa’s Heavy suit to be _incredibly sexy_. Perhaps it was the curves.  
“Hey, what do you do anyway?” Kepple asked. “Do those nanobots really work?”  
“Okay, yeah, I wanna see them in action,” Alexa prompted.  
“If you insist,” MAVRIC decided, holding up one hand before his hair glowed indigo. A spark of lightning shot straight up, dancing around in his palm to the amazement of the two Maliwan troopers. As his eyes flashed red, the electricity was replaced by a raging flame sitting right his hand. He flicked his wrist, sending a fireball off into the distance.  
“Whoa, that’s sick!” Alexa exclaimed.  
It was nice to take in the positive feedback, but the AI knew he was going to have to leave the two behind if he wanted to explore Promethea. He could easily overpower the two of them, but for whatever reason, he was not too keen on incinerating Alexa. The hesitance must have been part of being human, he guessed. In that case, he was going to have to resort to a different method of running off.  
“There’s one more thing,” MAVRIC stated. He raised both arms up, small fires flickering between his fingers. Before any of them could question what he was doing, he clapped his hands together, generating a massive blast of smoke.  
When the smoke dissipated, the Elementalist was gone.  
“Wait, what the hell?” Kepple questioned.

After fighting off the rest of those COV lunatics with help from Iron Bear, Moze was ready to find Dr. Ace and hand over the blood packs and bandages she had salvaged. As glad as she was to be helping injured soldiers, the Gunner could not wait to get back to Sanctuary for her date.  
“Lorelei, I’m heading back to base,” she announced over her ECHO.  
“Glad to hear that, Moze. These guys could really use the help-”  
“Such a peculiar setting…” an unknown voice spoke to no one in particular. It had come from inside the abandoned pharmacy that the Gunner was just passing by. Then, there was the sound of electrical sparks. “Disgusting ratches…”  
“Jaina?” Moze heard Lorelei murmur. There was a notable sorrow in her voice. The Atlas commander realized that she had said the name out loud, so she elaborated for the Gunner: “She’s a friend from long before the war. I thought she was dead… Go check it out!”  
Moze cautiously stepped foot inside the pharmacy, Vladof pistol steady in her hand. There were freshly zapped ratches scattered all across the floor, giving off the mildly nauseating scent of burnt hair. The soldier did her best to ignore the smell, instead focusing her mind on what Jaina was going to look like.  
Her best guess: Jaina had just escaped a Maliwan holding facility on Promethea, having stolen some guard’s pistol and used it to defend herself from the ratches. Moze was picturing messy hair from being a captive, maybe even a badass scar going along her eye.  
As the Vault Hunter rounded the corner, she was both disappointed and intrigued.  
Jaina lacked any scars and had fairly well-maintained hair… Oh, and her hair was glowing red. Her hands were engulfed in fire, yet it was clear that she was in control of the flames. Besides the hair, Jaina’s eyes were glowing as well; they were heterochromatic, with one eye being blue and the other orange, like Maliwan’s color scheme.  
“Er, hello,” she greeted in a monotone voice, her hair’s glow fading as the fires were dispelled. “My name is… Jaina.”  
“Uh, Lorelei?” Moze asked, holding up her ECHO. “Is your friend a wizard or something?”  
“What?” Lorelei questioned in response. She immediately passed it off, however, as her next words were, “Jaina, you’re alive! I can’t believe it!”  
“Wait… Lorelei?” Jaina muttered, the glow in her eyes beginning to flicker. She stumbled in place, one hand on her forehead. “Lorelei, where am I…” The Atlas soldier managed one step forward before her hair began lighting up, flashing different colors. “ _No, why is this happening-_ Who are you!?” she somehow yelled in two different voices, one being much more masculine and artificial.  
“Get out of my head- _This was not supposed to-_ Lorelei- _Please restart this unit-_ Stop!”  
Moze took a step forward, wanting to help yet not entirely sure what she could do. “Jaina, what are you-”  
There was a scream of pain, and Jaina fell to the ground unconscious.  
“Jaina?” Lorelei called out through the ECHO device. “Jaina! Moze, what the hell just happened!?”  
“Don’t worry, she’s just passed out,” Moze assured. “I’ll get her back up to Sanctuary; we’ll see what Tannis can do for her.”


	3. Opposites

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "ECHO Log 41. Uh, hey. It's me again, Alexa. Apparently Captain Rowe just got taken out back on Promethea. People were giving me their condolences, but I just corrected them; he's not my brother, our last names were just some crazy coincidence. And if you ask me... he probably had it coming. I'm worried I'm on the wrong side of this war. I wish I could just run away like Jaina... where did she even go?"

Jaina had no idea how much time had passed between blacking out in the Maliwan facility and waking up on Promethea. She had just regained consciousness when this voice in her head began working against her, scrambling her thoughts until she fainted instantly. Now she was awake yet again, lying down on an infirmary bed. She had no idea where she was, but she got the feeling that she wasn’t being held captive.  
 _Er… This was unexpected._  
The Atlas soldier panicked, getting up from the bed and searching for the source of that voice. She vaguely recalled hearing it right before falling unconscious on Promethea.  
Wait a minute… Jaina knew that voice. It was that AI.  
It felt as though Jaina had been yanked out of her body. Suddenly, she was no longer in control, her arms and legs moving on their own as she began moving around the room. It felt like she was watching a movie, simply observing someone else search around this lab, yet she felt every sensation as “her” hands ran along the walls and windows.  
 **Hey!** the soldier shouted… Wait, did she? It felt more like a thought, albeit a very loud one. **Get out of me!**  
 _Oh, er… You may regain control, I suppose._ Just as Jaina felt as though she were pushed from her body, she felt as if she had just been yanked back in, staggering in place as her hands were now listening to her. She took a few deep breaths, probably overreacting when it came to the situation.  
But could she really call it overreacting when there was a f***ing AI stuck in her brain?  
“What are you doing in my body?” she questioned. With no proper way to point at that AI, she settled for jabbing her finger at her reflection in the glass.  
 _Please allow me to correct your assumptions first: I am no longer affiliated with Maliwan._  
“Huh? Wait, how did you know I was thinking… Right, you’re in my brain.”  
 _At this point, I would assume the Overmind would want me dead._  
At the mention of an Overmind, Jaina suddenly found a stream of memories moving about in her brain: the AI’s desire for freedom, the experiments, transferring into her body, and even naming himself MAVRIC. Sharing memories was a very confusing experience; the Atlas soldier almost mistook some of the flashbacks for her own. At least it saved the both of them time when it came to introductions.  
“So… We’re cool?” Jaina asked.  
 _Well, with no ties to Maliwan, I have no objections to working alongside you,_ MAVRIC noted. _So yes, we are… cool. Odd use of the word._  
“This is weird, though. We’re basically-”  
 _Polar opposites, yes. You are a human affiliated with Atlas, I am an artificial intelligence formerly affiliated with Maliwan. Even the gender I was programmed with contradicts your biological sex._  
“…I did not need to think about that. But yeah… Crap, what am I… What are we gonna tell Lorelei? I mean, you were willing to kill me. No offense.”  
 _None taken._  
“She’s gonna be so confused.”  
As if on cue, the doors opened up as the Atlas commander stepped inside the infirmary.

Lorelei was done waiting.  
She had just found out that Jaina was not dead, and now she was expected to just leave her alone? What, because her hands were on fire when Moze found her on Promethea? Because she could be a completely different person after being presumed KIA for a week?  
That’s just stupid.  
Still, Tannis had a point. What if she had been changed? What if she didn’t even remember her? It was giving her anxiety… So she might as well face it now than live in suspense any longer.  
“Jaina!” Perhaps there was a bit too much emotion in that, but Lorelei could care less.  
“Lorelei…” Jaina murmured, the look in her eyes showing that she was just as nervous. “I’m so sorry-”  
She was cut off as the Atlas commander pulled her soldier - her friend - into a hug. “I thought I lost you,” she finally said after a long silence.  
“Honestly, me too.”  
“But you’re alive! You actually made it!” Lorelei smiling had been a rare sight ever since Maliwan went to war with Atlas. And it was certainly a welcome sight.  
Still, the commander did have her questions. “Moze said that your hair was glowing when she found you. That you could make fire with your hands… What did those Maliwan pricks do to you?”  
Jaina stared off into the distance. There was a strange look in her eyes, almost as if some unheard voice was talking to her. “Alright, MAVRIC,” she finally said. “You can say hi.”  
“What?”  
The soldier blinked, her eyes suddenly glowing. Her gaze turned to Lorelei.  
“ _Hello, Lorelei,_ ” came a masculine voice, almost mechanical in its tone. “ _My name is MAVRIC, former Maliwan AI, and I turned Jaina into an Elementalist._ ”

Everyone on Sanctuary had gotten used to MAVRIC and Jaina much faster than the two had expected. Perhaps it was from the numerous promises and proofs that the AI was not a double agent.  
Jaina remained in control of their body most of the time, with MAV learning about humans through observation. It took a while, but Jaina eventually found out how to willingly hand control over to the AI and get it right back, allowing them to swap between each other seamlessly.  
Of course, the war on Promethea was still raging on. Last thing Jaina remembered before getting captured was that Atlas was ahead. But according to Lorelei, Maliwan had begun winning the war with help from the COV. It was clear that Rhys could use more assistance than the Crimson Raiders if he didn’t want Katagawa merging the corporations.  
Luckily, Jaina and MAVRIC were practically a two-soldier Elementalist army. Unluckily, Jaina had no experience with using their powers, and MAVRIC’s only combat experience was against ratches. If they were going to turn the war around, they’d need some practice.  
“Hey, Vaughn said there’s a bandit problem down on Pandora,” Moze brought up. “You two coming along?”  
Before Jaina could decide that Psychos would make excellent training partners, there was the now-familiar feeling of being pulled out as MAVRIC took over. “ _Pandora, as in the desert planet with remnants of the Dahl corporation?_ ”  
“Uh, yeah,” Moze confirmed.  
 **Someone’s excited,** Jaina noted.  
 _Exploration of planets is such an enticing proposition._  
 **Alright. As long as you can practice fighting.** Jaina took back control for just a moment. “Yeah, we’re on board.”

“So how do I use my powers again?”  
 _Well, I have properly transferred nanite control to both of us. It should come naturally._  
Holstering her weapons, Jaina put her left hand forward and focused. She envisioned flames bursting forward like a shotgun blast to take on the two reckless Psychos running straight at her. There was no fire yet, but she continued to try and focus, closing her eyes and imagining a blaze shooting from her fingertips…  
…and nothing happened.  
 _Look out!_ MAVRIC yelled as he figuratively took the wheel. MAV’s eyes flew open to find one bandit dangerously close. He quickly threw out both hands, sparks erupting between his fingers as an electrical shockwave shoved the Psycho back. The other ground to a halt in surprise before cursing about having to fight yet another Siren.  
“Right, that did no go according to plan,” the AI noted.  
 **You think!? Let me back in, I gotta get this right.**  
Once Jaina was in control, she aimed one hand at the other bandit. She envisioned fire shooting out, or acid, or whatever, yet nothing came out as the Psycho ran in with a buzzaxe in hand. “Work, damnit!” she practically yelled, but that unfortunately accomplished nothing. Jaina was forced to duck under the swinging blade and retaliate with a punch to the shoulder.  
Interestingly enough, her fist turned icy blue as she struck, and the bandit instantly froze from the impact.  
“Huh…”  
So apparently, the nanites made her punches elemental. _I will have to fix this issue eventually,_ MAVRIC noted. Jaina turned to face the rest of the bandits storming Roland’s Rest, then glanced back at her hands. With one thought, they caught fire. With another, lightning began sparking at her feet.  
“Oh, that won’t be necessary,” she corrected.  
She ran at the Children of the Vault, tasering one poor soul with a running dropkick before moving on to the next unlucky bandit. She was running around, taking down fanatics one after the other with flaming punches and electrifying kicks. Even when a Badass Enforcer came in with armor, she just had to switch over to Corrosive, melt down his defenses, and then finish off by finally pulling off a ranged attack.  
The big guy was disrespected with a fireball to the crotch.  
“This is awesome!” she declared, pumping a fist into the air and shooting out a column of fire. “Alright, MAV, ready for some target practice?”  
 _Sorry, what-_  
 **Too late!**  
Jaina handed over control. There were still some devout followers that were somehow not intimidated by Jaina, with one reckless Psycho charging the Elementalist, stick of dynamite in hand. “Let’s go _boom_ together!” she yelled.  
“ _Er, no thank you._ ” With one glance and a controlled wave of the hand, MAV froze the crazy demolitionist solid. Another bandit charged him only to be caught on the wrong side of a lightning strike, and yet another wielding a flamethrower was ironically incinerated by a fireball twice his size. MAVRIC held his ground, keeping a cool head as the remaining Children of the Vault were reduced to electrified piles of ash, ice sculptures, and acid puddles.  
 **Alright! I think we’re ready for Promethea-**  
 **[Nanites are overheating. Please give a moment to cool down.]**  
Oh no.  
MAVRIC nearly fell to the ground, overcome with a rather uncomfortable sensation. It was as if his blood had been set on fire and was threatening to burn him alive. Thankfully, that would not be the case, as long as they allowed the nanobots to refresh.  
 **Damn, this hurts!** Jaina complained, unfortunately also able to experience the pain, which finally subsided after way too long a wait. **Ok, you might need to learn how to use a gun.**  
“That was some good fighting, you two!” Moze congratulated from within Iron Bear. “As long as you don’t drop like that again, I think you can take on all of Maliwan!”  
“ _That is… an exciting thought,_ ” MAV admitted.  
“Uh, Jaina? MAV?” came Lorelei’s voice from their ECHO. “Some Maliwan asshole just sent me a message. I think it’s for you two.”  
“I KNOW YOU’RE HIDING IN THAT SOLDIER GIRL’S BODY, AI.”  
“Kepple, you’re holding it too close.”  
“Fine. Anyway, don’t think you can stay safe forever, AI! Alexa and I are gonna find ya, and when we do…”  
There was a sound like electricity after Kepple finished talking.  
 **MAV?**  
 _I know, Jaina. We need to get to Promethea now._


	4. Battlefield

No time for gun practice. No time for hesitation. Lorelei and the others needed backup, so it was up to an Atlas soldier, a runaway AI, and their shared Elementalist body to save the day.

As the Fast Travel station beamed them down to the neon battlegrounds of Meridian, it was clear that Maliwan had pulled ahead. It was as if their entire army had settled down to defend their newly acquired turf, with Heavy units guarding the roads and death spheres patrolling up above. Dozens of troopers were advancing more and more, pushing back Atlas’ overwhelmed ranks.

“Fall back!” Lorelei shouted out, narrowly avoiding an incendiary round from a particular jetpack soldier. “We can’t hold them off! Get to Watershed Base!”

Seeing her friend in danger sparked something in Jaina, which was reflected by the nanites as her hands began to crackle with voltaic bolts. **Ready?**

_Ready._

**Time to kick some ass.**

The Elementalist rushed in like a freight train hit by lightning, leaving behind an electric trail. Jaina powered through without a second of hesitation, bullets of fire and corrosion whizzing past her hair. Once she was close enough, she leapt through the air, crashing into the middle of the Maliwan formation with the force of a meteor. Twin shockwaves of fire and electricity blasted in every direction, frying shields and burning weapons. Every trooper had been knocked off balance, some snipers flying out of position thanks to short-circuiting jetpacks.

“It’s that Elemental chick!” a Badass Trooper yelled, on her feet with both pistols ready. “Focus fire on-” she was cut off as MAVRIC and Jaina kept up the pressure. Switching control between each other, the Elementalist became a whirlwind of destruction. From fireballs and miniature blizzards to electrical haymakers, the two were an unstoppable tag team in one resilient body.

Overspheres turned to ice blocks. Riot shields were knocked aside as their owners took on blazing waves of heat. Two Contaminator Heavies made the mistake of lining up, allowing one well-aimed lightning strike from MAV to break both of their elemental cores, which led to satisfying explosions of acid.

**Keep it up!** Jaina asserted. **We need to clear a path.** She briefly took control of the body and turned towards Lorelei and the others. “No retreat! We’re taking back the Metroplex for Atlas!”

Inspired by the backup, the platoon of soldiers held their weapons high and charged back into the fight. They finished off the stragglers from Maliwan’s disrupted squads, taking back lost ground with every step forward. Lorelei led the charge from the frontline, rallying the troops and sending death spheres falling to the ground.

“We got this!” Jaina yelled in triumph, setting her fist ablaze. “Don’t back down-”

**[Nanites are overheating. Please give a moment to cool down.]**

Damnit.

Jaina yelled out in pain as the burning sensation hit her like a tidal wave. Their nanobots had been completely spent taking out that first wave of soldiers, setting the Elementalist’s nerves ablaze. She managed to remain standing, one hand against a building to keep her balance, but simply touching the wall seemed to intensify the pain.

“Jaina! Are you alright-” Lorelei put a hand on her friend’s shoulder, immediately pulling back. It felt like Jaina was on fire.

“ _Not to worry, Lorelei,_ ” MAVRIC explained, with the pain too intense for Jaina to speak up. “ _This is fine. The nanites have simply begun overheating from prolonged usage. Just give it a moment._ ”

Judging from the blank look on Lorelei’s face, she was either terrified of the thought of Jaina and MAVRIC overheating, or she was just lost.

**[Nanites are ready for use.]**

“Alright, let’s do this!” Jaina yelled out, shaking off the lingering heat. But before she could run off to join the fight, she turned to a frozen Assault Trooper, carefully taking the Maliwan shotgun from their hands. If she and MAV were going to stay in the fight, it would take more than just the nanobots.

The Atlas soldiers were pushing back the enemy forces, slowly advancing and retaking the Meridian Metroplex. Jaina flanked the Maliwan backline, planning to get rid of the hard-hitting snipers for the others. The problem was that several Children of the Vault were stuck on rearguard duty, clearly happy to finally see some action.

“Get the Siren!” one of the COV fanatics yelled out, rifle trained on Jaina’s face. Rather than correct him, the soldier ducked behind cover to properly load her gun. **MAV, ready for some target practice?** she asked.

_What? Oh. Yes, I am ready!_

**Good!** Jaina handed over control to the AI, who then rushed out from behind cover. He had no experience with a proper firearm before, but it appeared simple enough to use: just aim and fire. So he held the shotgun close to his chest, crosshairs right on a Psycho. He held the trigger to charge up the weapon, the disc-shaped barrel spinning faster and faster. Just before the Psycho could swing his buzzaxe, MAVRIC released the trigger and blasted out an electric shockwave.

A bit more recoil than he was expecting, but it certainly worked out.

MAV continued to take on the bandits and troopers alike, improving his aim with each kick of recoil that knocked him in the neck. Occasionally, an enemy would creep up behind him, though Jaina was always ready to retake control and whip around to greet the sneaky bandit. Maliwan’s ranks were growing smaller and smaller, and it was as though Atlas had already won.

Up until one commander yelled out, “I found the rogue AI. Send in the Elementalists!”

Only minutes later, something was tearing through Atlas’ soldiers. A faintly human-shaped silhouette weaved through their backline impossibly fast, leaving bolts of electricity in its wake. MAVRIC barely had time to identify what it was - or rather, who he was - before getting knocked off his feet, sparks forcing his body to spasm.

“Remember me, AI?” Kepple asked, hands and feet giving off threatening bolts of lightning. Without his visor, his silver hair was standing on end, and there was a stormy blue glow in his eyes. “Never thought you’d go and join the Raiders. Then again, the higher-ups at Maliwan did mention a certain intel compiler that just loved to disobey orders.”

**Wait, I know this guy.** Jaina’s internal rage was heating up, remembering the Maliwan officer that zapped her while she was held captive. **How did he get Elementalist powers?**

“ _Who gave you the nanites?_ ” MAVRIC questioned, standing up slowly and leaving the gun on the ground.

“Some brainiac tried to replicate those nanobots you invented. Pretty great, but he didn’t quite get them right. So I only got Shock powers, and Alexa - wherever the hell she is, taking her sweet time to get here - only has Fire. Anyways…” Kepple clenched his fists, and his veins appeared to be glowing. “Get ready to die, traitor.”

Jaina took control, raising her fists up like a prize fighter and setting them ablaze. “Bring it on.”

There was a blue-tinted blur, and Jaina was already on her back. She scrambled to get back up, but another strike from Kepple knocked her down before she was on her feet. Her vision was turning fuzzy, and the electricity still arcing through her nervous system did not make the situation better.

_Jaina, look out!_

Just as he came in for a third hit, MAV took over, generating a fiery blast that sent their opponent flying back. He managed to get up and refocus himself, just in time to dodge to the side as a lightning bolt flashed past him. Jaina regained control as Kepple closed the distance, doing her best to fend off each electrified punch that he threw.

She managed to land one fireball to the chest, pushing the soldier back a few inches as he quickly patted away the flames. There seemed to be smoke rising from his shoulders, yet Kepple barely seemed to notice. “Is… is that all you got!?” he yelled out, his voice uncertain.

**Hang on, he’s close to overheating!** Jaina realized. **Man, those discount nanobots don’t last long, do they?**

_Not at all._

Kepple activated his earpiece. “I got the AI busy. Someone tell command to move in!”

_Wait, I have an idea._

**Alright, let’s do this.** Jaina picked up the gun lying on the ground. If this was going to work, the last thing they needed was to keel over from nanites catching fire. “Bring it on, Kepple.”

She dodged one electric bolt, firing off heated rounds from her shotgun. Kepple was moving impossibly fast, never once getting hit. One spark hit the gun in her hands, and it short-circuited as he closed the distance in the blink of an eye. He had Jaina pinned in place with one electrified hand, its grip sending agonizing arcs into her shoulders.

Then, all of a sudden, he let go.

Kepple fell to the ground, appearing to be in quite a lot of pain. There were sparks flying off his body in every direction, and his body spasmed as if he were hit by a taser. “Whoa, hey- what the hell!?” he managed to question as his hair began smoking. “They didn’t tell me this would happen! Stupid nanites-”

Blazing energy flowed through Jaina’s body for one finishing move. She kicked him, the fire giving just enough force to send Kepple flying an impressive distance, all while overheating his internal nanobots even more. By the time he crashed into Maliwan’s backup, the tech reached its breaking point. He detonated into a massive electrical explosion that cleared out the very unfortunate new arrivals.

“We did it!” Jaina heard voices calling out through her ECHO. “Metroplex is ours, boys!” The cheers from her fellow soldiers gave her relief, at least for a moment.

_Behind you!_ MAVRIC warned, taking control and turning around, only to raise his hands in the air. The Powerhouse Heavy towered over the Elementalist, aiming both shock cannons at his face.

“Any last words?” the Heavy questioned.

Before MAV could think of anything good to say, the Heavy’s power core was hit with a fireball from behind. He flailed about for two seconds before the core detonated in an electrical explosion. Once the smoke cleared, MAVRIC found a familiar face with glowing orange eyes.

“ _Alexa?_ ”

“Jaina!” The soldier ran up to greet the Elementalist. “Oh, wait, I… I guess you’re not Jaina then. Kepple told me you’re an AI?”

“ _Well, yes. Sorry about that-_ ” MAVRIC stopped talking for a moment, staring off into the distance as though someone was speaking to him. Then, the glow faded from his eyes. “MAV, you told her I was dead!?” Jaina questioned.

Alexa was stunned for just a moment, before it clicked for her. “Oh, you must be Jaina. I… well, I met _MAV_ a while back.”

“Yeah, I think I remember you.” Jaina smiled. “Thanks for the save.”

“Well, I kinda felt like I was on the wrong side of the war. If it’s cool, I was wondering if I could join the Raiders. I mean…” She gingerly held up her hand, which had caught fire. “I think you’re gonna have to teach me how to use these nanobots.”

The Elementalist nodded. “ ** _Welcome aboard, Alexa,_** ” the two voices said in unison.

**Wait, we can do that?**


End file.
